Faculty and staff at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay were sad to learn that John P. Cofrin, Jr. passed away this summer at his home in Bellingham, Washington. Cofrin was one of Barbara Hauxhurst Cofrin and John Cofrin Sr.’s six children who established the Cofrin Arboretum endowment to honor their father, and grandfather Austin E. Cofrin, founder of Fort Howard Paper Company. Both men placed a high value on the preservation of natural features and resources of Wisconsin.
The Cofrin family gift of $575,000 was announced in November 1975 and at the time was the largest donation to a University of Wisconsin institution, outside of Madison. At the announcement of the donation, the family noted “we wanted something outdoors, not just some museum piece; something people would get fun out of….”.
Chancellor Ed Weidner stated in 1975 the University’s original intention was to develop the arboretum on a piecemeal basis as funding became available. Weidner observed that the “….gift enables UWGB to enhance the site to its true beauty even beyond the expectations of those who designed the site.”
The endowment continues to support maintenance and management of the Cofrin Arboretum. Please read the full obituary here.